13/03/2024 (Agence Europe) – On Wednesday 13 March, the European Parliament approved the new directive on the freezing and confiscation of criminal assets by 598 votes to 19 with 7 abstentions, following an agreement reached with the EU Council in December (see EUROPE 13312/11). It should speed up recovery procedures and improve victims’ rights. It covers a wider range of crimes (trafficking in human beings, drugs or firearms, sexual exploitation of children, money laundering or the assets of oligarchs under sanctions) and allows confiscation in the event of a suspect’s illness or death. Member States will have to set up specialised offices to manage these assets. The powers of asset recovery offices are strengthened in cross-border investigations, with rapid access to the necessary information (property registers, citizenship registers, commercial registers, tax data or even registers of beneficial owners). (SP)